By 3pm, a total of 2,452 idols had been immersed, comprising 2,311 household ones, 116 'saravajnaki' or public idols. Pics/Atul Kamble and Pradeep Dhivar
Since early in the day, huge crowds gathered at various places in the city to catch a glimpse of their favourite deity, as decked up idols of Lord Ganesh in various forms and sizes were taken out of pandals for their final journey, accompanied by music, dance and prayers
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a yellow alert for Mumbai and its neighbouring areas including Thane, Palghar and Raigad and predicted rains in these areas
The festival, which began with 'Ganesh Chaturthi' on September 19, concludes on the 'Anant Chaturdashi' on Thursday with the immersion of idols in the Arabian Sea and other water bodies here
The IMD also issued a yellow alert for parts of Maharashtra including Pune, Nashik, Ratnagiri, Ahmednagar, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Jalna, Aurangabad, Beed, Parbhani, etc. An orange alert was issued by the IMD for Sindhudurg on Thursday
The IMD, in a weather bulletin said that thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds (30-40kmph) at one or two places were very likely
In Mumbai's Lalbaug area, famous for celebrating the festival with grandeur, the procession of idols of Tejukaya and Ganesh Gully mandals started with chants of 'Ganapati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya' (come soon next year Lord)
Thousands of people gathered on the streets of Lalbaug and other major procession routes of Ganesh idols to bid farewell to the deity with heartfelt prayers and witness the vibrant processions being taken out with music, dance and sprinkling of 'gulal' (vermillion powder)
Crowds also assembled on the main road leading to Girgaon in south Mumbai, from where the maximum number of processions pass. These include the processions of Ganesh idols from Fort, Girgaon, Mazgaon, Byculla, Dadar, Matunga, Sion, Chembur and other areas
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, as many as 1,65,964 idols, including several household idols, 'sarvajanik' (public) ones and idols of Goddess Gauri, were immersed in various water bodies here including artificial ponds till the seventh day of the festival
A large number of people were seen waiting on both sides of roads for the final 'darshan' of the idols
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